It’s been a wild year for World Wrestling Entertainment thus far, and January isn’t yet half over. In quick succession, various announcements and rumors have overtaken social media.
According to the timeline provided by sportskeeda.com, On January 5th, The Wall Street Journal reported that Vince McMahon was planning a comeback to WWE from retirement.
January 6th, Mr. McMahon was appointed to the board of directors of WWE.
On January 10th, Stephanie McMahon resigned as Chief Executive, and Vince was named Chief Executive Chairman of the board of WWE.
Stocks jumped by about 17% on the news of his return.
Soon the rumor mill took a death grip on the false story that Vince brokered a deal to have WWE sold to Saudi Arabia. There was speculation that “HHH” Paul Levesque would be let go soon.
As the rumors were laid to rest, WWE stocks made a correction and dipped once more.
Following the early January turmoil, a shareholder has filed a class action lawsuit against Vince McMahon in a Delaware court, as stated by Yahoo news.
“Mike Leonard of Bloomberg reports that a shareholder is suing McMahon in Delaware’s Chancery Court. The suit alleges that McMahon used his voting control on the WWE Board of Directors to replace them with “loyalists” and consequently make changes to the bylaws that would “impose his will on the board and WWE.” Leonard noted that a spokesperson for McMahon and WWE did not respond to a request for a comment.”
The latest from a WWE press release states “WWE Engages Outside Advisors to Support Review of Strategic Alternatives”, which is a move to help facilitate negotiation in the upcoming media rights cycle.
Whatever the outcome, more eyes are sure to be on the product in the near future.